Cigarette lighters



May 12, 1964 H. LowENTHAL 3,132,498

CIGARETTE LIGHTERS Filed Feb. 8, 1962 ffl/- ,2/ 274. /6' f5 I i By Mllameys line of the lighter,

United States Patent Oce 3,132,498 Patented May l2, 1964 3,132,498 CIGARETTE LIGHTERS Hans Lowenthal, Kensington, London, England, assigner to Colibri Lighters Limited Filed Feb. 8, 1962, Ser. No. 171,845 Claims priority, application Great Britain Apr. 14, 1961 3 Claims. (Cl. 67-7.1)

This invention relates to fully automatic igniting mechanisms for cigarette lighters.

Such mechanisms have a spring-loaded iingerpie'ce, manual movement of which, 'against' the action of its the other link connectingthe two levers is formed by the tingerpiece. connected to the liint wheel in such the wheel is turned and a spark is pressed against the wheel.

According to the present invention, in a lighter having a fully automatic igniting mechanism of the kind described,

other arm being acted upon by a spring which is the return spring for the iingerpiece. The two-armed lever may be either straight or be a bell-crank lever. When a bell-crank lever is used, by varying the angle between the two plane of the section shown in FIGURE 1. casing formed by the two sections 1 and 2 is an inner casing 3 which forms a frame on which the operating mech- One of the levers is anism of the lighter is supported. Within the inner casing 3 is a removable gas reservoir 4 having a refilling inlet 5 and a burner 6.

The automatic igniting mechanism comprises a iiint tube 7 containing a flint 8. As is described in detail in our nt application S.N. 141,182,

is pivotally mounted on the upper end of the pairs of levers 16, the lower ends of which are pivotally mounted on a arms 19 of the pair of bel -crank levers 17, which are themselves pivoted on a pin 17a which also carries the core 14.

16 is rocked from the position shown 1n dotted lines in FI 16' in chain-dotted lines upon debottom of which abuts against a plate 21 which extends between the two sides of the inner casing 3.

The spring 20 is mounted on a rod 22 which prevents This causes the bell-crank levers 17 to rock also. Their arms 19 move to the position shown in chaindotted lines at 19 and the arms 25 move to the position shown in chain-dotted lines at 25. The movement of the arms 25 into the position 25 moves the head Z3, and with it the rod 22, downwards. The bottom of the rod 22 slides through a hole in the plate 21. This movement of right-hand end 30 by the arm 25 as this moves downward. It will be seen that the iiint tube 7, the spiral tension spring 13 and the spring cover is described in detail and claimed in my co-pending U.S. patent application S.N. 171,846, filed February 8,

alsa/ies 3 i The tingerpiece 15 has an integral extension 27 which, rigidly iixed to said rst arm and extending laterally from when the Viingerpiece is in its normal position shown in full said pivot means but generally downward when in said lines in FEGURE 1, extends above the burner 6 and keeps second position, said ingerpiece being pivoted on said iirst dirt out of the casing. When the lingerpiece 15 is dearm, an abutment ixed to said body portion below said pressed the extension 27 is withdrawn laterally into the 5 second arm, a coiled compression spring having one end position shown in chain-dotted lines at 27 and the flame bearing on said abutment, means pivotally attaching the issuing from the burner 6 is accessible within the opening other end of said spring to second arm, whereby said exposed by the movement of the extension 27. This spring exerts an upward force on said second arm, biasmovement is described in detail and claimed in my cO- ing it toward said first position with increasing eiiectivepending U.S. patent application SN. 171,844, led Febru- 10 ness as said second arm moves from its downward posiary 8, 1962. tion toward its laterial position in which it is transverse instead .of having the spring 20 extending almost vertito the direction in which said spring is exerting pressure cally downwards away from the iingerpiece its position thereon, and guide means within said spring to prevent may be altered to fit in compactly with a different assembuckling thereof upon downward movement of said sec'- biy of parts by altering the angle between the two arms 15 ond arm, said spring being operative to return said fouroi the bell-crank levers 17. The levers 17 need not in bar chain to said rst position after displacement therefact be bell-cranks, but may have two arms in a straight from to rotate said iiint wheel by operation of said fingerline and, in this case, the spring 20 would extend more or piece. less horizontally. The arrangement is, however, particu- 2. A lighter as claimed in claim 1 in which said guide lariy adaptable to enable it to tit in compactly with vari- 20 means is a rod within said spring and said abutment is ous different arrangements of parts in many forms of provided with a hole within which said rod is slidable. lighter. 3. A gas-,burning cigarette lighter according to claim l,

I claim: which has a gas reservoir within a casing, and in which a 1. In a cigarette lighter having a fully automatic ignittube for housing the int and said spring both extend ing mechanism comprising a body having upper and downwards within the casing on the same side of said gas lower ends, an abrasive wheel at the upper end of said reservoir. body and means for rotating said wheel including a double lever four-bar chain, said four-bar chain including a por- References Cited in the fue 0f this param tion of said body forming a first link, rst and second UNTED STATES PATENTS evers, irst and second pivot means pivotally mounting 3() said iirst and second levers respectively on said body por- 218031122 Malin@ Aug- 20 1957 tion, a flngerpiece forming a second link pivoted'on said 219481134 Quefcla A112; 9, 1950 first and second levers and means operatively connecting 3:01f326 Femm DSC- 51 1961 said int wheel to said first lever for rotation therewith upon operation of said ingerpiece, the improvement com- FOREIGN PATENTS prising irst and second arms forming said second lever, 169,657 Austria Dec. 10, 1951 and movable with said first lever and ngerpiece between 349,116 Switzerland Nov. 15, 1960 a rst position and a second position, said rst arm extend- 583,773 Great Britain Dec. 30, 1946 ing in an upward direction from said second pivot means 988,812 France May 9, 1951 vwhen in said iirst position and said secondV arm being 40 1,204,683 France Aug. 10, 1959 

1. IN A CIGARETTE LIGHTER HAVING A FULLY AUTOMATIC IGNITING MECHANISM COMPRISING A BODY HAVING UPPER AND LOWER ENDS, AN ABRASIVE WHEEL AT THE UPPER END OF SAID BODY AND MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID WHEEL INCLUDING A DOUBLE LEVER FOUR-BAR CHAIN, SAID FOUR-BAR CHAIN INCLUDING A PORTION OF SAID BODY FORMING A FIRST LINK, FIRST AND SECOND LEVERS, FIRST AND SECOND PIVOT MEANS PIVOTALLY MOUNTING SAID FIRST AND SECOND LEVERS RESPECTIVELY ON SAID BODY PORTION, A FINGERPIECE FORMING A SECOND LINK PIVOTED ON SAID FIRST AND SECOND LEVERS AND MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTING SAID FLINT WHEEL TO SAID FIRST LEVER FOR ROTATION THEREWITH UPON OPERATION OF SAID FINGERPIECE, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING FIRST AND SECOND ARMS FORMING SAID SECOND LEVER, AND MOVABLE WITH SAID FIRST LEVER AND FINGERPIECE BETWEEN A FIRST POSITION AND A SECOND POSITION, SAID FIRST ARM EXTENDING IN AN UPWARD DIRECTION FROM SAID SECOND PIVOT MEANS WHEN IN SAID FIRST POSITION AND SAID SECOND ARM BEING RIGIDLY FIXED TO SAID FIRST ARM AND EXTENDING LATERALLY FROM SAID PIVOT MEANS BUT GENERALLY DOWNWARD WHEN IN SAID SECOND POSITION, SAID FINGERPIECE BEING PIVOTED ON SAID FIRST ARM, AN ABUTMENT FIXED TO SAID BODY PORTION BELOW SAID SECOND ARM, A COILED COMPRESSION SPRING HAVING ONE END BEARING ON SAID ABUTMENT, MEANS PIVOTALLY ATTACHING THE OTHER END OF SAID SPRING TO SECOND ARM, WHEREBY SAID SPRING EXERTS AN UPWARD FORCE ON SAID SECOND ARM, BIASING IT TOWARD SAID FIRST POSITION WITH INCREASING EFFECTIVENESS AS SAID SECOND ARM MOVES FROM IT DOWNWARD POSITION TOWARD ITS LATERIAL POSITON IN WHICH IT IS TRANSVERSE TO THE DIRECTION IN WHICH SAID SPRING IS EXERTING PRESSURE THEREON, AND GUIDE MEANS WITHIN SAID SPRING TO PREVENT BUCKLING THEREOF UPON DOWNWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID SECOND ARM, SAID SPRING BEING OPERATIVE TO RETURN SAID FOURBAR CHAIN TO SAID FIRST POSITION AFTER DISPLACEMENT THEREFROM TO ROTATE SAID FLINT WHEEL BY OPERATION OF SAID FINGERPIECE. 